


Deep end

by Pocket_Sasaki



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: CCG!Hide, Hide did not deserve, M/M, Overly edgy writing, PTSD, Precious Hide, Precious kaneki, Sadness, Shameless ocs, Some Swearing, Whats the best cure for writers block, basically just a conglomeration of ideas I got from other works, because we all need CCG Hide (at least I do), but also happiness too?, centipedes are scary, fluff probably, hide makes puns, if only I knew, more will appear as time goes on, my otp will be canon, okay probably will be lots of swearing, overly complicated writing, probably some terrible humor maybe, respecci the kaneki, seriously what are these tags, thats all i know, they wont be major characters tho, what even are these tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-04-30 00:37:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14484867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pocket_Sasaki/pseuds/Pocket_Sasaki
Summary: AU where Kaneki manages to escape Arima, Amon doesn’t die, Shinohara doesn’t go into a coma, and Kaneki and hide don’t meet each other at Anteiku before it burns. Hide instead managed to make it to the CCG in time to receive medical attention. This au is really unoriginal but I had to. I just had to.





	1. Shining sun

A young man walks down a near deserted street, his vibrant blond hair a blaze of orange in the evening sun. He walks casually, one hand in his pocket, the other holding his phone. He uses his thumb to scroll through the long list of songs saved on his phone. Finally coming upon a suitable one, he presses play, moving his orange headphones from where they rested around his neck, placing them on his head. 

 

After a few minutes of walking and glancing dazedly at his surroundings, a certain apartment complex catches his eye. He stops in his tracks, gazing at the building. A person walking behind him nearly runs into the young man.

 

“Hey! Watch It!” the person says frustratedly.

 

“Sorry, sorry!” the young man says absentmindedly, taking one step toward the building and out of the middle of the sidewalk. His eyes wander over the building, examining each and every one of the familiar doors. It’s been seven months, yet still nothing has changed. As he stares at the building, his eyes are caught by a certain door. He sighs, something tugging at his mind. It feels like…… a mix of sadness, nostalgia, and maybe even a little guilt? He takes another step toward the building.  _ I might as well go check.  _ he thinks.  _ It’s not out of my way, and it’s not like I’m in a hurry, but then again, I’m not going to find anything. _

 

He lets out another sigh, taking the final step into the parking lot. As he walks across the parking lot and up the steps, he can’t help but think back to the time he did this almost every day. It’s been 7 months since his best friend disappeared. He had been taking care of his best friend’s apartment since then. He had managed to work it out so that he didn’t have to pay the rent for his friend’s apartment, arguing that since his friend was  _ technically  _ a missing person, they could neither sell the apartment or charge rent. 

 

It used to be that he came to check on this place every day, but he started checking less frequently, checking on it every 2 days, every 4 days, every week, every 2 weeks, until eventually he just stopped checking at all. He was still holding onto the vain hope that his friend would eventually come back, but that hope was starting to run out.

 

He finally reaches the apartment. He reaches for the keys, which he keeps with him (Don’t question it), and begins to place the keys in the lock when he realizes something. Something bad. The lock was busted. Completely and utterly busted. This probably means the apartment was robbed due to his lack of vigilance, something he would beat himself up over for the next week or so. At least there wasn’t anything super valuable in there. Hopefully everything is still okay.

 

He reaches tentatively for the doorknob, eventually working up the courage to go inside. 

 

As he opens the door, he expects to see the apartment in disarray. He expects to find things broken. He expects to find things missing. He expects for it to be deserted like always. He doesn’t expect to find the apartment as neat as he left it, and he  _ certainly  _ doesn’t expect to find somebody inside.

 

But that is exactly what happens.


	2. Shining moon

A young man darts through deserted streets and alleys, the bright moonlight causing his pure white hair to appear to be glowing. He moves quickly and purposefully, his body carrying him along the path that is so familiar to him. It almost feels like nothing has changed. The streets look exactly the same as they did 7 months ago. His feet finally bring him to his old apartment. His final destination.

 

He stands for a moment and gazes up at it. A sense of dread and apprehension spreads over him. _Can I really go back?_ he thinks, the idea of having a normal life seeming so foreign to him. He begins to space out, exhaustion taking its toll, slowing his normally sharp mind down to a snail’s pace.

 

He is suddenly startled out of his stupor by two stray cats, yowling at each other over a small scrap of fish. He observes their fight, something oddly nostalgic about the sight.

 

He turns back to his original goal, and with a sigh, steps into the parking lot, his bare feet making no noise against the cold pavement.

 

Much to his frustration, the door is locked, and the key is not where he left it (on top of the doorframe). He tries to think of another way in, but eventually just resorts to breaking the lock. Not the best choice, but it works, he thinks, exhaustion partially clouding his judgement. He goes inside.

 

The interior is much neater than it was 7 months ago, and although there is a layer of dust coating everything, it looks cleaner than it’s ever been.

 

This white-haired young man, however, pays no attention to this. He is simply too exhausted to notice. As he stumbles inside, he can already feel his eyelids starting to droop. He flops down on the couch and closes his eyes, allowing himself to be surrounded by the soft blanket of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooo boy, that chapter was difficult to write. Even though it’s short, I wanted to really solidify the imagery. Please let we know if I did a good job ^-^  
> Also, OwO what’s this?  
> https://pocket-haise-sasaki.tumblr.com  
> A shitty ask blog?  
> What fun!  
> But seriously though my ask blog is probably a waste of time


	3. Mirum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which Hide does kaneki a startle and gets beaned.

The first thing Hide notices upon entering the apartment is that it’s  _ clean.  _ Not spotless, but it was no longer dusty. There was still grime that had been there when Kaneki left, and Hide noticed a couple centipedes crawling around in the corner.  _ I hope there’s not a nest of them.  _ Hide thought, looking around amazed at the state of things. He did not expect it to be even the slightest bit clean, let alone this. As he steps into the kitchen to look around, he notices that there are a few dishes in the sink.  _ Where those there last time I came?  _ Hide thinks, tilting his head slightly, much like a cat investigating a strange twitching thread.  _ That’s odd…. it’s only mugs.  _ Hide thinks, peering into the sink and inspecting its contents. The only type of dish is coffee mugs. There are no plates, bowls, or cutlery. As he looks around the kitchen he realizes that most of the dishes are still dusty, the only exception being the coffee mugs. 

 

Suddenly, Hide’s train of thought is interrupted by small noises coming from somewhere else in the apartment. His eyes go wide as he realizes he is not alone. There is somebody in the apartment besides him, somebody who is seemingly unaware of Hide’s presence. Hide creeps down the hallway, carefully placing his feet to avoid any floorboards he knows to be squeaky. As he approaches the bedroom, where the sounds had been coming from, he sees a thin beam of light peeking out from under the door.  _ Somebody’s in there.  _ Hide thinks, creeping up to the door.  _ Should I knock? No, now is no time to be polite. If they’re an intruder, I should try to sneak up on them.  _ Hide thinks, beginning to reach for the doorknob. He hesitates for a moment, trying (and failing) to slow his racing heartbeat, and shoving the nagging voice of fear into the back of his mind (and somewhat succeeding). After taking a deep breath, he resumes his previous action, grasping the doorknob firmly with his definitely-not-shaking hand. 

 

Hide turns the doorknob slowly and quietly, desperately hoping that the person on the other side of the door doesn’t notice. He stops again, the nagging voice of fear clawing it’s way back out of the dark pit of his subconscious Hide had shoved it into.  _ “What if you get hurt?”  _ It says in its quiet, whispering, unnerving voice.  _ “You could be down the hallway and out the door before they even knew you were there. Why not just quit while you’re ahead?”  _ it whispered incessantly. Hide did his best to shove it away again, adamantly grasping the doorknob firmly.

 

After standing there for about a minute, he threw the door wide. 

 

The first and only thing Hide saw was startlingly white hair and silver eyes. He started to move but was suddenly hit hard on the back of the head, sending him falling to the ground.

 

_ “I told you so.”  _ said the voice of fear as the world began quickly fading to black. 

 

“Shut up.” Hide muttered quietly as he spiraled into the inky blackness of unconsciousness.


	4. Ambivalent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was hard to complete, but I finally managed to fight through my writers block and get it finished. Now I have no idea how to continue...... leave me a comment on how you think I should continue this! I have an idea for something later on, just no idea how to connect it to what is happening now....

Kaneki lounged on his bed, his eyes lazily combing over a page of the book that was cradled in his hands. He has just finished dusting and tidying up his apartment (though it was still a bit dirty) and planned on reading for the rest of the night. He had arrived at his old apartment at about 1 in the morning that day, and had ended up sleeping until noon. Despite getting a good 11 hours of sleep, he was still exhausted, and can already feel his eyelids drooping even though it is only 5:30. 

 

_ “I think I’ve read this before.”  _ he thinks as he finishes a chapter. Despite the feeling of deja vu, he continues reading, completely oblivious to the fact that someone has just quietly opened the front door and is now inside the apartment. He stops reading for a moment, shifting into a sitting position from where he was laying. It was at this moment, when he was briefly reconnected to reality, that he was able to tell someone else was in the apartment.

 

_ “Footsteps. Kitchen”  _ said the cold, emotionless voice of his instincts. Kaneki’s nose twitched. The scent that was reaching his nose was familiar somehow. It was sweet and reminded Kaneki of summertime and sunflowers (with a slight smell of shampoo, this person must have showered recently), and was quite pleasant.  _ “They smell delicious” _ said a quiet, almost seductive sounding voice. Kaneki ignored it.

 

Kaneki stood up, bookmarking his book and preparing to head out of his bedroom, but then decides it would be best if nobody knew about his presence just yet. He hasn’t come up with a convincing lie pertaining to his extended absence yet. He can hear quiet footsteps coming down the hallway toward the door.  _ “Crap, they must have heard me.”  _ Kaneki thinks, immediately freezing in place.  _ “Stupid stupid stupid. Never let your guard down!”  _ he berates himself internally. 

 

The person approaching the door hesitates for what feels like forever.  _ “At least they have common sense.” _ Kaneki thinks, still frozen in place. He sees the doorknob turning slowly and silently, and internally commends this person for their caution and stealth. Kaneki’s whole body tenses up as the doorknob is turned completely. Then the person outside pauses again. Kaneki can feel his kagune beginning to manifest, a single small rinkaku erupting from his back.

 

After what feels like a millennia, the door is finally thrown open, the person on the other side Bursting into the room. Kaneki is moving instantly, swinging his rinkaku around and hitting the intruder with a swift blow to the head, enough to knock him out and leave him with a headache but not enough to cause serious damage. The intruder is unconscious within seconds. Kaneki breathes a sigh of relief, feeling a small twinge of guilt when the intruder hits the floor with a  _ thump. _

 

Kaneki carefully walks toward the unconscious body now laying in the doorway, his kagune dissipating into a faint red mist. He kneels by the body, examining the young man laying motionless before him. 

 

He has wild, startlingly blond hair and is wearing a grey jacket with orange-yellow sleeves, and a pair of blue grey shorts. A thought keeps tugging on the back of Kaneki’s mind, but every time he tries to grasp at it, to see it clearly, it vanishes. Whatever. 

 

Kaneki reaches down to carefully turn the young man over to get a better look at his face. Once he had him laying on his back, Kaneki’s eyes widen. “ _ No. It can’t…… he can’t be here. No no no no nO NO NO!!!” _ Kaneki screams internally. He closes his eyes and opens them again, expecting Hide to be gone when he opens them. But he isn’t. Kaneki brings a shaking hand to his face, feeling tears welling up in his eyes. “ _ He…….I…”  _ Kaneki’s mind falls into chaos, unable to form a coherent thought for more than a second or two. He just sits by the unconscious body of his best friend and cries for a while.

 

Kaneki doesn’t know how long he sat there when his mind finally calms and he is able to think straight again. He stands, his eyes now full of steely determination. He quickly puts on a plain black hoodie, making sure his white hair is covered. He doesn’t want to stand out. Then, he returns to Hide. Being as gentle as possible, he carefully hooks one arm under Hide’s legs and the other arm under his torso, lifting him up, carefully supporting every part of his body while still having a firm grip on him. 

 

Kaneki carefully maneuvers Hide out of his apartment, happy to see that it has gotten darker out. At this time of night, it wouldn’t be unusual to see someone carrying their unconscious friend home, perhaps because they had a little bit too much to drink. Regardless, Kaneki tries to avoid crowded streets as he carries his childhood friend back to his home. As he carefully winds through alleys and side-streets, Kaneki finds his eyes wandering down to his peacefully sleeping friend. 

 

As he gazes down at Hide’s peaceful expression, a quiet voice, so quiet it can barely be heard, speaks up in Kaneki’s mind.  _ “He’s so beautiful.”  _ Kaneki’s face begins to blush slightly, an odd but not entirely unwelcome feeling.

  
It doesn’t take long for Kaneki to reach Hide’s apartment. It was a bit of an issue getting inside (Kaneki had to get hide’s keys out of his pocket and unlock the door without dropping him), but he was able to take Hide to his bedroom without any problems. He lays Hide down in his bed, then turns to leave. He pauses for a moment in the doorway, looking back at his friend. “Goodnight, Hide” Kaneki mutters, turning and leaving the apartment with an odd feeling. Happy, and yet sad. Ambivalent. “ _ Ambivalent”  _ Kaneki thinks. “ _ What a beautiful word.”  _


	5. Éveillé

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is.... sloppy, at best. Reason for this are 1. It’s rushed. 2 fUCKING WRITERS BLOCK. Hopefully the coming chapters will be higher quality, assuming I can actually figure out how to continue this. Gimme some advice guys.

The first thing Hide is aware of was the fact that he was  _ here.  _ He doesn’t know where here  _ is,  _ but he knows that he exists. That he’s alive. At least that is a little comforting. 

 

The next thing he becomes aware of is that he is in pain. A dull ache, starting where his neck meets his head and stretching all the way down his legs and arms. The pain is the worst near his neck and head, and that combined with the splitting headache he has is enough to impede complex thought. With a slight groan, he rolls over, shifting to lay on his back rather than his stomach. Or he would have done that, if he hadn’t just fallen to the carpeted floor of his bedroom. His head, fortunately , lands on a pillow, but the rest of his body hits the floor, and even though it is carpeted, it still feels like concrete to Hide’s aching body.

 

“Ow…” Hide mumbles, his voice coming out as more of a quiet groan than actual speech. He shifts again, sharply aware that he’s going to have some major bruising, and lays on his back. His ears are ringing, a high pitched tone that is quite unpleasant, and is not helping his headache in the slightest. He waits for a moment for the ringing to subside… but it doesn’t. It keeps going for about a minute before Hide finally realizes that his ears are not ringing at all. It’s his alarm clock, it’s irritating beeping signaling that he’d better get up, or he’ll be late.  _ “Shit shit shit!”  _ he thinks frantically, trying to remember what day it is.

 

He opens his eyes slightly, and instantly regrets it.The morning light shining in through the window in his bedroom just so happened to fall on his face. The bright light shining in his eyes so suddenly caused his headache to get a million times worse. He shuts his eyes quickly, using his hands to gently massage his temples. 

 

He lays there for a short while, nursing his headache. After a while, it begins to fade, leaving it as just a dull throb instead of sharp stabs of pain. He attempts to open his eyes again, prepared for his headache to come rushing back all at once. But it doesn’t. It remains a slight throb at the base of his head. He attempts to sit up, dully aware of the slight aches in his arms, legs, and back. Once he’s sat up, he looks around.

 

Hide is in his bedroom, a fact that Hide has just begun to be suprised by. He had kind of expected to wake up tied to a chair in some dark cellar somewhere, not to wake up safe in his bedroom. As he looks around, his eyes find his calendar, one of the days circled in faint red ink. Hide breathes a sigh of relief.  _ “It’s Saturday. No classes today…. No work either.”  _ he thinks, relaxing now that he knows he’s not going to be late for anything. 

  
Hide reaches up, grabbing the edge of his bed to help himself stand up. He looks down at his bed. The bed is still made, which is odd, but Hide disregards it as unimportant. He stands there, trying to remember what had happened the previous night. He remembers going to check on Kaneki’s apartment, and there being someone in the bedroom… and he remembers going into said bedroom, but after that, nothing. So how had he gotten here? Had he walked home and now couldn’t remember it? Or had he been carried? He looks down to where he had fallen to the floor. If he rolled over and fell out of the bed, that must mean he had been on the edge, as if someone had placed him there.  _ “Well, that rules out my first idea”  _ he thinks groggily. Come to think of it…. did anything he had with him have his address on it? His ID card didn’t, and his phone was locked. Then a grim realization hits him.  _ “Whoever it is, they know where I live.”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just finished TG :re volumes 3 and 4 and damn :re is so much better than the first series. Random thing.... any TG ships you feel strongly about? (Other than this one of course). If I get enough responses of people supporting that ship, then I might write something for it (assuming I can understand why it’s shipped).


	6. Possibility of eviction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE SURPRISE IM NOT DEAD
> 
> super duper sorry for the long gap between chapters. I’m not going to go into details as to why (because frankly, it’s just a bunch of lame excuses), but to make up for my absence, you guys get two chapters at once! And there are more to come!
> 
> Special thanks to Maeple for the idea for this chapter! And another special thanks to the rest of you reading this! I couldn’t do it without you! <3

Kaneki stands at the checkout, his hood pulled up to hide his hair. He scowls as the cashier tells him his total. He roots through his pockets, finding that he has barely enough to pay for it.  _ “Since when has coffee been so expensive?”  _ he thinks bitterly. He hands over the money with a sigh. Then, he picks up his bag and leaves the store, pulling his hood farther down over his head as he walks out into the street. He begins making his way back to his apartment, his thoughts beginning to wander.  _ “I should probably get a new lock on my front door.”  _ he thinks.  _ “The lock is busted. Anyone could get in.” _ he thinks, something in the back of his mind whispering the name of his childhood friend. He sighs, pushing the rebellious thought further back into his mind. He doesn’t need to be thinking about that on top of all his other problems. His thoughts wander to Anteiku.  _ “I wonder where Touka and the others are. I hope they’re safe.”  _ he thinks with a pang of sadness and worry. And just like that, he’s back in front of his apartment building. Only, somethings wrong. There is someone there. Kaneki lets out an exhasperated sigh. It’s his landlord. “ _ Of course it is. Who else would it be?”  _ Kaneki thinks sarcastically, beginning to climb the steps to his apartment. 

  
Kaneki’s landlord is a short, rather thin man with bright eyes and a warm smile. He is amicable and friendly, but is very strict when enforcing the building’s rules. His eyes light up when he sees Kaneki. Kaneki, on the other hand, scowls. “Kaneki! Good to see you back! You had me worried! Next time you decide to go missing for 8 months, say something, okay?” the Landlord, who’s name is Bunta Yuzuki, by the way, says. Kaneki sighs. “I didn’t really plan on going missing. It just… happened.” Kaneki says quietly. “I was just kidding. I’m sure you’ve been through a lot.” Yuzuki says, looking at Kaneki’s hair, which was showing regardless of his hood.  _ “Fuck.”  _ Kaneki thinks, reaching to run a hand through his revealed hair. “Look, I”m really not in the mood to talk about-“ Kaneki is cut off by Yuzuki beginning to speak “I know man, I’m not gonna pry. If you want to keep it private, then by all means, don’t tell.” he says. Kaneki sighs. “Look, it would really be great if you and all the other residents could keep my presence a secret. I’m not ready to no longer be a missing person yet.” Kaneki says, trying to keep his exhasperation out of his voice. “Alright. Doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay rent, though.” Yuzuki says, his hands in his pockets. “What?” Kaneki says, exhasperation quickly shifting to confusion. “Rent. Your friend convinced me to let you get off without paying because you were legally a missing person, and even though you technically still are, I’m gonna need you to pay rent.” Yuzuki says, all joking gone from his voice. Kaneki is silent for a moment. Then, he finally speaks, his voice quiet. “Look, I just got back. I have no job, barely any money, and no way to even  _ begin  _ to pay.” Kaneki says, his voice flat without a hint of desperation. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you get off without paying rent. I can move the payment date to the end of the month, but that’s all I can do. If you can’t get the money by then, well…. I’m afraid I’ll have to evict you.” Yuzuki says. Kaneki watches silently as he walks away. Once he can no longer see his landlord, he enters his apartment, flopping down on the couch despairingly.  _ “There’s no way I can get enough money by the end of the month.”  _ he thinks, his head in his hands.  _ “What am I going to do?”  _


	7. Workday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is so bad hnnnnnnn
> 
> The reason there’s all sorts of stuff in parenthesis in here is because that’s how I’d image Hide thinks, always adding little notes or random thoughts.
> 
> Also, CCG HIDE YAAAAAAAAS
> 
> Also (again), there has been a time skip since the last chapter. It’s been a week.

The annoying sound of his alarm clock is usually the only thing that gets Hide out of bed in the morning. Today, however, Hide is already out of bed when his alarm clock goes off, paranoia having kept him up. Hide gets up from his desk and walks over to shut the alarm clock off, the noise unusually grating to him. He sighs, looking over at his calendar. Two classes in the morning, then he has work for the rest of the day.  _ “I  _ really  _ don’t want to go to my classes today.”  _ he complains mentally.  _ “It’s better than doing nothing all day, I guess.”  _ he thinks, beginning to prepare for what he feels is going to be a long day. 

 

Classes go the same as they always have. Sit in his seat and listen to the professor talk, take what could be considered notes (if you have low standards), zone out, and in the case of Hide’s literature class, gaze sadly at the empty seat next to him, attempting to take notes but not really being able to focus. At one point Hide caught a girl staring at him, her purple eyes fixed on him (he’s pretty sure she’s a freshman…. what’s she doing in his class?). When he turns to look at her, she blushes slightly, averting her gaze quickly. Hide rolls his eyes with a sigh, turning back to his work. 

 

After his classes, Hide gathers his things and heads off campus, his mood already brightening. Hide enjoys his work, despite the… perils it comes with. Great coworkers (most of the time) and an opportunity to use his natural deductive skills are just two things Hide likes about his work. Hide casually walks down the street, placing his orange headphones on his ears and setting his phone to play a playlist of American songs that he has downloaded. 

 

The walk is short and pleasant, a gentle breeze ruffling Hide’s already messy hair. As Hide approaches the CCG’s 20th ward office, he takes off his headphones, stowing them in his bag as he walks through the door. He provides his ID to the receptionist, who welcomes him with a smile. Hide walks past through the RC gate, casually walking to the elevator and heading up to the floor he works on.

  
Hide walks to his desk quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone else who may be working (even though the office is practically empty right now). He sits down at his desk, pulling his laptop out of his bag and opening it on his desk. He navigates to the folder containing files relating to work, and opens the current case. The current case is a pretty nasty one. Cheshire Cat, S rated, used to be a problem in the 15th Ward, but for some reason has moved to the 20th. She takes an unnecessary number of lives, both human and ghoul. She’s already taken the lives of two investigators both of whom she killed when they weren’t on the job. Recently, Hide’s superiors got a tip that she often hung out in an old office building. Suddenly, Hide is startled out of his thoughts by a metal case being placed on his desk with a dull thud. “You left your quinque in the office again.” says a cold, commanding voice. Hide looks up from his laptop to see Akira Mado, one of his superiors, standing next to him, a look of disapproval on her face. “Oh, thanks! I totally would’ve forgotten to grab it!” Hide says cheerily, trying to hide his nervousness. Akira is a  _ scary  _ woman. “Nagachika, this is no laughing matter,  _ especially  _ with the ghoul we’re dealing with currently. Your negligence could get you killed. Don’t do it again.” Akira says, her voice serious and cold. Hide simply nods. “We’re going to stake out the office building tonight.” Akira says, walking over to her own desk, her heels clicking quietly on the tile. Hide nods. The day just keeps getting longer and longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you guys be mad if I made my CCG oc a semi-important character? Like, nothing too self-inserty, just like, she’s there sometimes?


	8. Not really a chapter

Surprise surprise I’m not dead! And neither is this fic. I know it’s been a looooong ass time since the last update but please, allow me to explain myself.

 

I recently started at a brand new school, and everything is so much different here than at my old school. While most of the work isn’t hard, there’s a whole lot of it. I’m not usually one to let a workload slow me down, but it’s different now because it’s become very clear that if I put minimal effort into my work, I’m going to fail.

 

It would be a lie to say I don’t have free time, though. I do. I have plenty of it. I just have been choosing to spend it on other things because, Ima be honest here, I completely forgot this fic existed, and I’ve kinda fallen out of the TG fandom. Now, that’s not to say this won’t ever be updated. I had ideas for it, and if I’m gonna let this die (Which I hopefully won’t), I wanna get those ideas written first. Now, that’s not to say I have a  _ ton  _ of ideas, I’ve only got a few, but the ones I  _ do  _ have I think are really cool and at least semi-original, and I  _ am  _ looking forward to writing when I get the chance.

 

Now, please understand, this fic may not be my top priority. I have class work, artwork, extracurriculars, and other things I want to write. But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop writing this. Tokyo Ghoul will always hold a special place in my heart, as it was really my first real exposure to Manga or Anime (I’m not counting happy happy clover and Pokémon). This ship is especially meaningful to me, because I love my gay bois, and because Hide reminds me of myself, and Kaneki reminds me of the girl I used to like. But that’s another story for another time (maybe).

 

I would just like to thank any of you reading this for putting up with my total lack of work ethic and my less than stellar writing. Your suggestions, kudos, comments, and praise means a lot to me, and I wouldn’t be writing this without any of you.

 

Now, go out there and live life to its fullest. Read, write, draw, create. Make new friends, hang out with old ones. Learn every day. Go to parties, throw a pumpkin off someone’s roof.  _ Be happy. _ Try your best, because that’s all anyone can really strive for.

 

As a wise man once said, “You know, you only live once, so Eat ass, Smoke grass, and Sled fast.” -Dan the Meme Man.

 

With love,

-SD

 

P.S. Next chapter coming soon! ♪( ´▽｀)


	9. Aimless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First chapter with two perspectives! Leading up to a plot event! (ᵔᴥᵔ)

Kaneki sighs, staring at the sidewalk just in front of his shoes. He doesn’t know where he’s going, or why. He just knows that he needs to get away from that apartment before he goes insane. The end of the month is fast approaching, and Kaneki still has no way to pay his rent. With Anteiku gone and all of the Anteiku ghouls nowhere to be found, if he gets evicted, there is nowhere for Kaneki to go. He could go back to Banjou… no, he has enough to worry about without having to help take care of Kaneki. There’s Tsukiyama, Kaneki knows he has a mansion somewhere…. but has no clue where, and has had no word of Tsukiyama since the Anteiku raid. That only leaves… no. The whole reason Kaneki left in the first place was to protect him. By going to him, Kaneki is just putting him in danger again. There has to be some way out of this…

 

Lost in his thoughts, Kaneki doesn’t realize someone is about to run into him until they have already barreled into him. They both fall to the sidewalk.

 

Kaneki is quick to get his bearings and get back up on his feet again. He looks at the person who ran into him. It’s a young woman, looking to be just a bit younger than Kaneki. She has long, wavy brown hair, pale skin, and vibrant amethyst eyes. She is currently gathering papers and books, which probably spilled from the backpack she’s holding. Kaneki is easily able to tell she’s a ghoul, and a pretty strong one, judging from her scent.

 

“Sorry sorry! I am so so sorry! I totally wasn’t watching where I was going!” She days as she gathers her belongings.

 

“It’s fine. I wasn’t paying attention either.” Kaneki replies cautiously.

 

She finishes gathering her things, stuffs them in her bag, and slings it over onto her back. Then she stands, dusts herself off, and bows politely.

 

“I’m really really sorry!” She says, her voice slightly muffled by the hair that now covers her face.

 

“It’s fine.” Kaneki says again

 

“Wait shit.” She mutters quietly, then stands up straight. “I’m really sorry! I have to go now! Bye!” She says quickly before dashing past Kaneki and running off.

 

Kaneki watches her go for a moment, then turns back and continues walking, pulling the hood of his grey hoodie tighter over his hair. 

 

————-

An hour or two later…

————-

Hide scratches at the sleeves of his coat. Underneath is a bit of what he likes to call stealth armor. Hide has  _ no  _ idea what it’s actually called but he does know that  _ god dammit  _ it’s itchy. When designing this stuff, couldn’t they have added like, padding or something? Or at least something to make it more comfortable. 

 

With his itch satisfied, Hide let’s his thoughts wander a bit. He briefly muses about who that girl who was staring at him was, or why people thought phones shaped like weird tadpole people were a good idea, and about how tasty that muffin he had earlier was. 

 

“Nagachika!” Akira says, snapping Hide out of his thoughts. The stern look on her face tells him he’s in for a scolding if he doesn’t play his cards right. Which, knowing Hide, he won’t. 

 

“Yeeeees…?” Hide asks, just a bit of nervousness showing through in his tone of voice.

 

“Were you listening to a single word I just said?” Akira asks, picking up on the slight tone in Hide’s voice, her cold gaze sharpening.

 

“Of course I was!” Hide replies quickly.

 

“ _ How much?”  _ Akira asks, the scolding tone in her voice intensifying.

 

“Ummm…. I heard the first few sentences..?” Hide replies, knowing that there is no way to fool her. Akira’s piercing gaze sees through any deception,  _ especially  _ those coming from Hide.

 

Akira sighs angrily. “I swear, you’re completely hopeless,” she says. “I am only going to repeat myself one more time, so listen closely.”

 

————-

 

Hide and Akira enter the old office building. It takes a moment, but Hide’s eyes adjust to the darkness and he is able to take in his surroundings. The office building is barren, a thick layer of dust and grime covering every surface. There isn’t really anything in the building other than a few pieces of debris. The low light contributes to the overall eerie atmosphere. Akira leads Hide up to the third floor, which is where the reports said there was activity. Then they wait.

  
  


…….

  
  
  


And wait.

  
  
  
  


……

  
  
  
  


And… Wait! What was that?

It was just Hide’s imagination.

“ _ Goddammit this is so boring!”  _ Hide whines inside his head.

 

But, after what feels like hours, something happens.

 

Someone enters the building. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m a shitty procrastinator this chapter is so late I’m sorry. School is a bitch. Sorry 
> 
> But anyway......
> 
> Behold! My ghoul oc! I’m not gonna tell you guys her real name yet but her ghoul name is Cheshire Cat! ( ^ω^ )

**Author's Note:**

> Hhhnnnnn bad writing. Give me constructive criticism. Or just criticism. Scream at me through the Internet. I am prepared. This chapter is super short but the introduction chapters will be.


End file.
